Hello, Goodbye
by TheGreekGoddessAthena
Summary: "I'm not broken." Was she? She didn't know. She didn't want to know. It wouldn't matter if she was; it would never be hello again. Only goodbye. [Mar'i Grayson] [Character death]


_A/N: Inspired by the song "Hello" by Evanescence _

_I own nothing!_

_-:-_

_Playground, school bell rings, again_

Mar'i Grayson drug her feet through the dirt as she slowly swung. She idly hummed the Tamaranean lullaby her mother used to sing. Her height gained as she swung more, but her feet never left the ground.

These days, she didn't like being in the air much.

_Rainclouds come to play, again_

She blinked her green eyes, staring at the full moon above. Her melody dulled, until she was making no noise, only staring distantly at the sky. Ever since her mother had gotten sick, she'd been by herself. She didn't find company very helpful. She found it rather bothersome. It was annoying. They'd tell her how sorry they were for her, or how much pain she must be in.

They had no idea.

She looked away from the bright night and down to her bare feet. For humans, the cold October night would freeze them in Gotham, but Mar'i had the resilience of her mother.

Her mother.

The thought made her dizzy.

_Has no one told you she's not breathing? _

"Mar'iand'r,"

Mar'i turned, seeing Raven in her cloak. "Hello, Rachel," she spoke numbly. "Has Nightwing asked for my patrol tonight?" The sixteen year old asked.

Rachel did not answer her question. "Why aren't you in the hospital? Your father is worried sick. He called for you, Mar'i."

She got off the swing. "Why would I be there?"

Rachel stared at her goddaughter. Didn't she know? "Didn't he tell you?" She swept the girl into her arms and ravened them to Kory.

_Hello…I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to…Hello…_

Mar'i stared at the body before her. "Mom…" she whispered.

_If I smile and don't believe, soon I know I'll wake from this dream_

She didn't believe the sight before her. Her lively, amazing mother, still and cold. Her orange skin pale. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

She ran out of the building. She ran through the streets. Wherever she was going...she didn't care. She ran as fast as she could until she'd been running for hours.

Her body gave out. She slumped to the ground, and rested her head against a brick wall. Her face was wet, but she had cried herself out. She rested and prayed.

She was desperately wishing for it all to be a dream. A horrible nightmare. But she never woke up. She stayed in the sadness, her world spinning and crashing all at once. And it was too much.

A hand rested on her leg. She opened her eyes and ceased her whimpering, seeing a dark hand reach out to her. She stood on her own, up straight like the man before her had taught. "Bruce," she mumbled.

_Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken_

He gripped his granddaughter's hand. "You don't have to be so strong, Mar'i." He told her. "Not now."

She nodded to him, falling into his open arms. "She's gone…"

"I know, Mar'i." He told her. Feeling her body shudder, he sat on the ground with her. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm not broken," she whispered.

He wiped a tear off of her face. "I know. You are a strong girl. Like your mother. They don't understand that, do they?"

She shook her head. "I'm not broken..." she repeated. But it was more of a question. Was she?

She didn't know. She didn't want to know. It had to be a dream.

It all had to be pretend.

_Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide…don't cry…_

_Don't cry, _Mar'i begged herself as she watched her mother being lowered into the ground. Richard's hands rested on both of her shoulders, his chin on her head. Babs held her hand, and they watched as the priest read the final words.

After, many people gave their condolences. But Mar'i only nodded, she only lied. "I'm okay." She'd say. "I'm fine." It was robotic. It became something she would say without meaning. Honestly, she would never be okay again.

Her lies could let her hide herself.

If she hid herself, they couldn't hurt her anymore.

Nobody could.

And she didn't want to feel this pain again.

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping_

She didn't want it to be real, and it took her a long time to accept that it was. But she did. She was strong. She had to. She had to...

_Hello, I'm still here, all that's left of yesterday_

And years later, as Mar'i Grayson marched through the cemetery, she'd kneel and talk to her.

_Hello_. She'd try to say. But it wasn't hello anymore. Not when she was gone. It would never be hello again.

_Goodbye._

A/N: Depressing drabble-y piece.

I hoped you liked it!

~Suzie


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